Yeah, Iowa!!!

I love Iowa. I loved it when I visited it last month on tour. And I loved it when I was there last year for my friend’s wedding.

And I now I love it because it has – unanimously – become the third state in the union to legalize gay marriage.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. And they were unanimous in their decision. That’s just amazing. The Heartland of America truly shows its namesake by voting against discrimination.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone in Iowa agrees with this decision. I would even guess that a majority will not like this ruling. But, not many people were stoked about losing their slaves or letting women vote. Yet it was still the right thing to do.

We do not live in a majority-rule society. This is a common misconception because we’re constantly calling our government a democracy, which it is not exactly. America is a constitution-based federal republic. Thankfully, much like the federal constitution, its state counterparts protect the same liberties – including that of freedom from discrimination. Even if the majority of the voters morally disagree with homosexuality and marriage equality, the constitution prevents that kind of intolerance from becoming law. Until lately, unfortunately, some peoples’ moral arrogance has kept an entire population of Americans living in shame and treated like second-class citizens. With this ruling in Iowa, we are now 6% of the way toward having all states denouncing bigotry and instead embracing equality.

3 comments

I had no idea the heartland was capable of being so progressive. Well, maybe its more accurate to say I had my doubts this would be possible outside of coastal (read: traditionally more liberal), instead. Hear hear!